West Chicago’s strong gardening community rallied to the call for photographs of their own spring blooms or those admired around town, for a City-sponsored campaign called Spring has Sprung that was heavily promoted through social media and other resident communications. Over 100 photographs were received and a six-minute slideshow was produced.
“The City thanks everyone who participated, the submissions were all outstanding and some of the sentiments expressed that accompanied the pictures were as lovely as the flowers,” said Nicolette Stefan, coordinator of the project, which was intended to fill some of the void left when Blooming Fest needed to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
The heartwarming positivity and pride reflected in many of the comments submitted with the photographs were inspiring and motivating. Some expressed great joy for the beauty and healing power of nature through flowers, for others it was an occasion to remember a loved one who had a hand in planting the flower or a shared memory of happier times. Most simply contained the name of the bloom.
Three random winners were chosen from those who submitted photos. They have been sent a gift card to a local retailer, while all participants will receive a packet of seed donated by Ball Horticultural Company, a great supporter of the City’s beatification efforts. Once again this year, residents and visitors to downtown West Chicago will enjoy beautiful hanging baskets on Main Street, a gift to the community from Ball.
The City will begin planning for 2021 Blooming Fest in the coming weeks, and hopes it to be a great celebration of the community’s resilience in getting through the difficulties of 2020.
